Loose leaf binder



Dec. 21, 1965 J, POTTS 3,224,449

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed March 19. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. POTTS LOOSE LEAF BINDER Dec. 21, 1965 Filed March 19. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 3,224,449 LOSE LEAF BINDER .lohn Potts, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Wilson-.I ones Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 800,507 1 Claim. (Cl. 129-25) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No. 630,483, led December 26, 1956, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a loose leaf binder of the type having llexible sheet retaining posts bent down into a channel on the top cover and provided with a pair of sliding keepers for holding the bent ends of the posts in the channel.

The loose leaf binder of the present invention is concerned primarily with housing loose leaf records compiled in electrically operated mechanical tabulating machines. Tabulating machines of this type are extensively used at the present time and the housing of records compiled thereby presents many problems. The records accumulate with great rapidity, often increasing from a few sheets to approximately twelve inches of sheets Within a period of a single month. Accordingly, binders must have a sheet capacity of twelve inches or more to be used eiliciently. An important factor that complicates the problem of housing such accumulations of records is the size of the apertures required in the marginal portion of the sheets.

Sheets of the type with which the present invention is concerned are characterized by the fact that data is recorded over the entire surface area of the sheets except for a comparatively narrow marginal portion along opposite longitudinal edges. These marginal edge portions are each provided with a series of apertures having a diameter of '532 of an inch and spaced at 1/2 inch intervals for the entire length of the sheet. No variance can be permitted in the punching because the tabulating machines are standardized insofar as their feed mechanisms are concerned, and the specic punching is required to feed the sheets through the tabulating machine.

The sheet retaining posts must project through some of the apertures in the marginal edge portion of the sheets because any larger apertures provided in the sheet would interfere either with the data recorded on the sheet or with feeding the sheet through the tabulating machine. Accordingly, the sheet retaining posts must have a diameter no greater than 1/s inch. Metal posts are not suitable for such use because if they are thin enough to pass through the apertures of the sheet they frequently break under the `heavy load that must be carried by the binder. Flexible posts of the types heretofore known are unsatisfactory because they stretch and are not capable of holding the large capacity of sheets required.

In accordance with the present invention the sheet retaining posts are made of a tough, horny, resinous material, characterized by flexibility, high impact strength, and resistance to stretching. Examples of this material, which will be hereinafter referred to in the specification and in the claims as resinous material, are nylon, Teon, which is a polyfluoroethylene resin sold commercially under this registered trademark by the Du Pont Company, and copolymers of styrene and butadiene having a major portion of styrene. The preferred material is nylon of the type having self-lubricating characteristics. Such nylon is conventionally known as type 6/ 6 nylon.

Posts made of such resinous material may be bent repeatedly in the same area Without kinking or breaking, and when they are held in bent position have a normal tendency to return to straight position, because of their inherent resiliency, immediately upon release of the restraining means holding them is bent position. If any post does not return to completely straight position upon release of the restraining means, any curvature along the length of the post may be eliminated by grasping the post between the fingers and stroking it upwardly a few times until it is straight. In addition the hardness of type 6/6 nylon is such that repeated passage of a hard member, such as one made of steel or of very hard plastic, over posts made of such nylon will not cause significant fraying of the post.

A binding plate is secured to a corresponding edge of each cover member by a flexible hinge. If desired, the binding plates may be omitted and the binding mechanism may be attached to an edge portion of each cover member. Each binding plate is provided with a plurality of apertures correspondingly spaced so that the apertures in the top binding plate are aligned with the apertures in the bottom binding plate when the binder is assembled. The apertures in the bottom binding plate are each provided with a socket, preferably in the form of an eyelet or tubular rivet that is threaded on its inner wall surface. The sheet retaining posts are preferably enlarged at one end, and are tapered and threaded so that they can be threaded into the sockets from the underside of the binder. The apertures in the top binding plate are each provided with an eyelet or tubular rivet having a smooth bore. The sheet retaining posts that are threaded in the sockets extend through apertures in the sheets and through the eyelets in the top binding plate. A channel member is provided on the upper surface of the top binding plate, and the ends of the sheet retaining posts extending above the top binding plate are bent downwardly at substantially right angles into the channel member. Keepers slidably engaged with the channel member are then slid over the bent ends of the sheet retaining posts. The resilience of the sheet retaining posts causes them to frictionally hold the sliding keepers against accidental displacement, and the keepers hold the ends of the sheet retaining posts in the channel.

It is an object of the invention to provide a loose leaf binder with sheet retaining posts of resinous material utilizing their inherent resilience to return to straight condition, and locking means frictionally held against accidental displacement that may be easily slid between holding position and post releasing position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a loose leaf binder with eilicient, inexpensive means for preventing accidental displacement of the bent ends of sheet retaining posts of resinous material having a normal tendency to return to straight position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a loose leaf binder having sheet retaining posts of resinous material with sliding keepers adapted to be held in holding position by the resilience of said sheet retaining posts.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a loose leaf binder having sheet retaining posts of lresinous material with sliding keepers having sufficient length to completely conceal the ends of said posts bent into a channel on the top cover member.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing two preferred illustrative embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a loose leaf binder showing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the ernbodiment of FIG. l, showing two of the sheet retaining posts in upright position;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional View through the binder of FIG. 6 adjacent one of the sheet retaining posts;

FIG, 9 is a top plan view taken in the plane 9-9 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken along the line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a bottom cover member of any suitable material, such as, for example, a thin sheet of fiber board. A folded strip 3 of any suitable fabric is secured to opposite surfaces of the bottom cover member 2 adjacent one edge thereof. The folded edge of the fabric strip 3 is spaced from said edge of the cover member 2. The fabric strip 3 is reinforced by a strip 4, which is preferably pressboard, but may be ber, metal, plastic, or any other suitable rigid material.

The strip 4 has one longitudinal edge abutting the fold of fabric strip 3 to form a bottom binding plate. The opposite longitudinal edge of strip 4 is spaced from the edge of the bottom cover member overlapped by the fabric strip 3, to provide a flexible hinge 5. The hinge 5 comprises the portions of the two layers of the fabric strip 3 that extend between the adjacent edges of the bottom cover member 2 and the strip 4.

A plurality of sockets 6, which may be eyelets or tubular rivets provided with an internal thread, extend through the strip 4 and both layers of strip 3 adjacent.

opposite surfaces thereof. The sockets are spaced longitudinally of strip 4 to receive a plurality of sheet retaining posts 7. The sheet retaining posts are preferably of nylon, but may be of any tough, horny, resinous material as hereinabove described.

One end of each post is enlarged and threaded, as indicated at 9, so that the post Acan be inserted through the socket from the bottom of the binder and threaded into the socket. The end 9 is tapered slightly, as shown in FIG. 5, to obtain a tight fit capable of holding the post against accidental separation from the bottom binding plate. The post may be readily removed by turning it in the opposite direction to disengage the threaded end 9 from the socket. The posts may be removed and replaced by posts of different length to vary the capacity of the binder. The loose leaf binder shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is provided with four sheet retaining posts, but the number of posts may be varied.

A top cover member 10, similar to the bottom coverv member 2, is provided with a folded fabric strip 11 secured to both surfaces of the top cover member adjacent one edge thereof. The fold of strip 11 is spaced from the adjacent edge of top cover member and encloses a reinforcing strip 12, similar to the strip 4, to form a top binding plate. A flexible hinge 13 is formed between the adjacent edges of strip 12 and top cover member 10 by the fabric 11.

A compressor plate 14, positioned on the upper surface of the top binding plate is preferably secured rigidly to said plate by means of a plurality of eyelets or tubular 'rivets 15, which also secure the reinforcing strip 12 to the strip 11. Each of the eyelets 15 is aligned vertically with one of the sockets 6 to permit the end of a flexible sheet retaining post 7 secured in a socket 6 to project through an eyelet 15 aligned therewith. The sheets 16 for which the binder is designed are provided adjacent one edge with apertures 17 spaced uniformly along said edge. The apertures 17 are of a size to cooperate with the feeding mechanism of the tabulating machines in which the sheets may be processed, and to be impaled on sheet retaining posts 7.

The compressor plate 14 is formed from a strip of plastic material or metal apertured to receive one end of each rivet or eyelet 15. The compressor plate is preferably narrower than the distance from the folded edge of strip 11 to the adjacent edge of hinge 13. The longitudinal edge portions of the compressor plate 14 are embossed upwardly between its outermost apertures to form a pair of outwardly directed flanges 18 forming a channel 19 between them. The flanges 18 each have a flat outer edge spaced above the upper surface of the strip 11 for a purpose hereinafter disclosed. The width of the channel 19 is preferably twice as great as the diameter of each sheet retaining post.

After the sheet retaining posts 7 are threaded into the sockets 6, with the upper ends thereof projecting above the upper surface of the strip 3, the sheets 16 are impaled on the posts. The top cover member 10 is then impaled on the posts which project through the eyelets 15. The top cover member is pressed down tightly against the sheets, and the upper portions of the sheet retaining posts 7 are bent downwardly into the channel 19. The rigidity of the compressor plate 14 facilitates the application of uniform pressure over the entire binding edge of the sheets.

A pair of keepers slidably mounted on the compressor top of channel 19 have their ends bent downwardly and inwardly to fit around the anges 18. When the sheet retaining posts are bent downwardly into the channel 19, the keepers are slid in place over the bent ends of the posts to confine them in the channel. Each flange 18 is bent downwardly, as indicated at 21, at both ends, to form stops which prevent the keepers from sliding off the compressor plate. When four posts are used, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, two posts are positioned in side by side relationship in the channel 19 under each keeper. Preferably the outer posts are longer than the inner posts, so that a single keeper can effectively hold two adjacent posts in the channel. The posts are preferably arranged so that they do not overlap the posts at the opposite end of the compressor plate.

After the top cover member 10 has been positioned on top of the sheets 16 with the sheet retaining posts 7 projecting above the compressor plate, both keepers 20 are slid toward one end of the channel and the two posts adjacent the opposite end of the channel are bent Idownwardly into the channel. Both keepers are then slid over both of said bent posts toward the other end of the channel and the other two posts are bent downwardly into' the channel. One of the keepers is then slid over the two last bent l posts, so that all four posts are retained in the channel.

The resilience of the sheet retaining posts urges them toward upright position, and thereby causes a frictional contact between the retaining posts and the keepers. This frictional contact is sufficient to prevent any accidental K sliding movement of the keepers, and the sheet retaining I posts are held firmly in position. When either keeper is slid out of engagement with the sheet retaining posts at its end of the compressor plate, the released posts spring upwardly into substantial vertical alignment with the sockets 6 in which their enlarged, tapered ends are threaded.

The resiliency and toughness of the sheet retaining posts permits the posts to be bent repeatedly in the same' In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 10 the bottom cover member 22 comprising a sheet of liber board or similar material has a fabric strip 23 secured to opposite surfaces thereof adjacent one edge. The fabric strip 23 is reinforced by a strip 24 of pre'ssboard, ber or other suitable material to form a bottom binding plate which is spaced from the edge of cover member 22 by a flexible hinge 25. Cover member 22 is preferably long enough to permit the bottom binding plate to be folded into juxtaposition with the top surface of cover member 22 so that it is completely enclosed within the loose leaf binder when the binder is closed.

The bottom binding plate is provided with a socket 26 for each sheet retaining post 27. The sockets 26 are threaded interiorly, as indicated at 28, and are rigidly secured to the bottom binding plate in any suitable manner. The sheet retaining posts 27 are the same as posts 7, and are preferably spaced equally from the ends of the bottom binding plate. The sheet retaining posts 27 are enlarged and threaded at one end, as shown at 9 in FIG. 5, so that they can be threaded into sockets 26 from the bottom of the binding plate. In the normal position of the binder, the bottoms of sockets 26 and sheet retaining posts 27 are concealed by cover member 22 to provide a smooth bottom surface for the binder.

The upper cover member 28 comprises a sheet of liber board having a fabric strip 29 secured to its opposite surfaces adjacent one end, and a strip 30 of pressboard, liber, metal or plastic enclosed within strip 29 to form a top binding plate spaced from the edge of cover member 28 by a flexible hinge 31. A channel member 32, of the same width as strip 30 is secured to strip 29 above strip 30, as shown in FIG. 7. Channel member 32 has a ilat bottom wall 33, upstanding longitudinal edges 34 and 35, and inwardly extending flanges 36 and 37. The channel member 32 is preferably formed of plastic material, but may be formed of metal or any other suitable material.

The top binding plate is provided with a plurality of eyelets or tubular rivets 38 having smooth bores. The eyelets 38 are spaced longitudinally of the top binding plate to correspond with the spacing of sockets 26 in the bottom binding plate so that the sheet retaining posts 27 extending vertically from sockets 26 will extend through eyelets 38. A plate 39 is held against the bottom 33 of channel member 32 adjacent opposite ends of the channel by the eyelets 38 which are crimped over them. The outermost end of each plate 39 is bent upwardly, as indicated at 40, to form a stop member. In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 only two sheet retaining posts are used. However, if more posts are provided it will be understood that plates 39 will be secured to only the two outermost eyelets 38.

Two keepers 41 in the form of inverted channel members are mounted in channel member 32. The keepers 41 may be made of plastic, metal `or any other suitable material, and preferably .are made of the same material as the channel members 32. Each keeper 41 has a fiat top wall 42, a pair of depending side Walls 43 and 44 adapted to fit between the inner longitudinal edges of flanges 36 and 37, and outwardly extending flanges 45 and 46 adapted to t between flanges 36, 37 and bottom wall 33 of channel member 32. The distance between the upper surface of bottom wall 33 and the lower surface of top wall 42 is substantially equal to the diameter of sheet retaining posts 27. The keepers hold the bent ends of the post in place and are held against accidental displacement by frictional engagement with the posts. The resilience of the resinous material of which the posts are made urges them upwardly against the keepers to exert the frictional force necessary to hold the keepers against accidental movement, but the friction is not strong enough to prevent the keepers from sliding easily when force is applied to them.

The keepers are short enough so that when both keepers are slid to one end of channel 32 the post at the other end may be bent downwardly against bottom wall 33, and the adjacent keeper may then be slid over the bent end of the post to hold it in place. The stop members 40 prevent either keeper from sliding off the channel. The keepers are long enough to cover substantially the entire bent portion of each post. The flexible hinge 31 has suflicient width to allow top cover member 28 to lie flat over the top of keepers 41. j

The operation of the binder is very simple. Sheet retaining posts 27 are extended through each socket 26 from the bottom of the bottom binding plate, and the bottom binding plate is then folded over on the adjacent edge of bottom cover member 22 so that the posts project upwardly. The sheets 47 are impaled on the posts and the top binding plate is then impaled on the posts 27. The keepers are pushed to one end of channel member 32 and the portion of one post 27 projecting above the channel member is bent downwardly into the channel. The adjacent keeper is slid over the bent end of the post to hold it in place. The other keeper is then slid toward the rst mentioned keeper until the other post can be bent downwardly into the channel, and the last mentioned keeper is then slide over the second bent post. The cover member 28 is swung about hinge 31 to cover the keepers and provide a smooth exterior appearance for the binder as shown in FIG. 1.

When the binder becomes too crowded, the top cover is removed and each post may be threaded out of its socket 26 to remove it from the bottom binding plate, and may then be replaced by a post of any desired length. The posts are strong enough to hold the sheets firmly, but are suiciently flexible to permit the sheets to be exposed to the marginal edge portion when the binder is opened, so that all the data `on any sheet may be read.

Although I have described two preferred embodiments of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structure described.

I claim:

A top cover for a loose leaf binder having sheet retaining posts having a normal tendency to remain straight and to return to straight position when bent, a top binding plate, a channel on the upper surface of said top binding plate, a pair of plates positioned in said channel said pair of plates being provided with tirst apertures; said channel and said top binding plate being also apertured in alignment with -said first-named apertures, an eyelet extending through said apertures securing each plate of said pair of plates immovable in said channel and to said top binding plate, said posts being adapted to extend through said eyelet and being bendable into said channel, said pair of plates each having its outer end extending upwardly transversely of said channel to form a stop member, said channel having ra recess along each longitudinal edge, and a pair of normally spaced keepers overlying said channel having outwardly extending flanges slidably engaged in said recesses between said stop members, whereby said keepers are adapted to abut and slide .along the bent ends of said posts to hold them in said channel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,478 10/'1893 Bowry 129-25 617,757 1/1899 Miller 129-12 662,518 11/1900 Barrett 129-41 1,054,945 3/1913 Shipman 129-25 1,683,975 9/1928 Horn 129*25 1,850,376 3/1932 Brennan 129-25 2,119,844 6/1938 Brennan 129-25 2,172,374 9/1939 Flory 260-561 2,325,393 7/ 1943 Hartmann 129 25 2,641,261 6/ 1953 Uthurriague 129-41 2,935,434 5/1960 Dawson 129-21 X (Other references on following page) FOREIGN PATENTS Belgium. France. France. Germany. Great Britain. Great Britain.

s, 224,449 OTHER REFERENCES JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner.

I D. BEIN, GEORGE A. NINAS, JR., Examiners. 

